Our culture's obsession with excellence keeps us toiling under the tyranny of perfectionism. Yet perfection itself is not the tyrant—it's our notions about it that rule us.
I am obsessed with being perfect - the perfect student, employee, co-worker; having the perfect clothes, body, life. It wears me down, keeps me always wanting more. It keeps me from ever being content with my life, with what I have. It keeps me from realizing how blessed I am. It keeps me from giving to others as I feel I ought.
But most of all, it keeps me from realizing God's true grace, true love, true forgiveness. How can I let go of my perfectionism? Accept my self as a sinful, but loved and forgiven child of God?
There's a praise song I used to sing a long time ago that had the line:
Brokenness, brokenness is what I long for
Brokenness is what I need
Brokenness, brokenness is what I long for
and what You want from me
When I first heard this song, I could not understand these lines. Why would I long to be broken? Why would God want me to be broken? But now when I hear/sing this song, it reminds me that to accept God's grace, I need to first realize that I need it. I need to embrace my brokenness, know that I am not perfect, stop trying to be perfect in order to need God, to really have a full relationship with God.
As Luther said, "Sin boldly, and believer more boldly still."
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